Abstract

To design, test, and evaluate applications for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs), researchers rely heavily on network simulations. These allow conducting experiments in a fast, cheap, and reproducible manner. In general, the accuracy of simulation results depends to a large degree on the quality of the simulation models. Here, the model of the physical layer is particularly crucial for the realism of the results. Given its relevance, it is unfortunate that there is a dispute within the community on how interference should be modeled. To fill this gap, we conduct a systematic study of the IEEE802.11p physical layer in which we cross-validate results from simulations, off-the-shelf devices, and lab equipment. The results of these experiments are all coherent and indicate that intra-technology interference, i.e., interference from other IEEE802.11p devices, has a similar impact than noise. Treating interference like noise is, therefore, not just a simplification that is adopted by many network simulators, but accurately captures reality.

Copyright notice

Links to final or draft versions of papers are presented here to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted or distributed for commercial purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

The following applies to all papers listed above that have IEEE copyrights: Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.

The following applies to all papers listed above that are in submission to IEEE conference/workshop proceedings or journals: This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessible.

The following applies to all papers listed above that have ACM copyrights: ACM COPYRIGHT NOTICE. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from Publications Dept., ACM, Inc., fax +1 (212) 869-0481, or permissions@acm.org.

The following applies to all SpringerLink papers listed above that have Springer Science+Business Media copyrights: The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.